Warriors captain Roger Tuivasa-Sheck leads his team out onto the field at the Northland Events Centre on Saturday. Photo / John Stone
Warriors captain Roger Tuivasa-Sheck leads his team out onto the field at the Northland Events Centre on Saturday. Photo / John Stone
A strong 26-16 win for the Warriors against the West Tigers on Saturday at the Northland Events Centre didn't do much to make up for the disappointment for locals at not seeing Northland's own do battle.
Warriors second rower Adam Blair and Tigers lock Elijah Taylor, who both hail from Northland, were ruled out of Saturday's final pre-season trial in Whangārei. Blair, who had been in town visiting local schools since Thursday, was benched because of a tight hamstring, whereas Taylor was sidelined due to a pectoral injury.
It turned out the away side could have used someone of Taylor's local knowledge on the park as they squandered a number of opportunities and failed to capitalise when they were in enemy territory.
In contrast, the Warriors looked almost seamless without the experience of Blair as the home side swept through the Tigers with fast play and swift offensive tactics, opening up space for their wingers to exploit.
"If it was my decision, I would have run out there and played because we don't get too many opportunities to play at home but the smart option was to rest it up and not make it worse," Blair said, after the game.
"I was more disappointed in myself to be honest because I probably could have done a little bit more recovery-wise, but you only realise that after something like this happens."
Blair said it was easy to say in hindsight that he could have done more to avoid such an injury when his days before the game were filled with school visits and community activities.
"I'm quite professional about all of my stuff and I do things quite well but I just thought I could have done a little bit more."
Young Adam Keighran (centre, standing) impressed in the halves for the Warriors. Photo / John Stone
Despite sitting on the sideline, Blair was pleased with the performance, particularly that of new recruit in the halves, Adam Keighran.
"Steven [Kearney] had a really hard decision picking the halves and I thought Adam did well with Blake [Green] in that first half especially and I thought our forwards did a good job."
Blair commended the work of wingers David Fusitu'a and Ken Maumalo, who both picked up two tries each, and the maturity of Green, who performed well in a leadership role.
"David and Ken are solid at the back and if they get any momentum they go well for the team, so they were outstanding.
"Green controlled the game really well and if you control the ball and complete sets, it goes pretty well."
Ken Maumalo (with ball) scored two tries in a dominant display from the Warriors winger. Photo / John Stone
He thought the defence and execution shown by the Warriors was a credit to a good pre-season and the result would add excitement for their round one clash against the Bulldogs at Mount Smart Stadium on March 16.
More than 6000 people attended the pre-season fixture on what was a busy weekend which also featured the last day of the well-attended Northland Field Days in Dargaville as well as a number of sporting and cultural events.
Event manager Rachel O'Gorman said she knew there were a few things on in Northland on Saturday, but was happy with the turnout.
"We didn't really know what to expect, it being a pre-season game but it was just about the whole week, which went really well."
O'Gorman said the only issue was not having a scoreboard or big screen to display the score, but with the next sporting event at the venue coming in June, she expected the solution to be ready by then.
